Cyxtera Technologies Inc., a global provider of retail colocation and interconnection services, and Starboard Value Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, have signed a definitive business combination agreement today. SVAC is sponsored by an affiliate of Starboard Value LP.

“At Cyxtera we’ve built a data center platform that’s ideally positioned to deliver the type of differentiated solutions that enterprises, service providers, and government customers require to meet their ever-changing infrastructure needs,” said Nelson Fonseca, CEO of Cyxtera. “By merging with SVAC, we are able to accelerate our plans to drive high-margin growth by increasing utilization of our existing assets, developing innovative product offerings, and expanding our global footprint. Our management team’s experience in successfully building and operating a publicly traded data center company with a significant presence in international markets ensures that the additional capital will be efficiently allocated to effectively build on our world-class platform, accelerate growth, and create long-term shareholder value.”

Jeff Smith, chair of SVAC and CEO of Starboard, said, “Cyxtera is at an exciting inflection point, poised for significantly improved growth and profitability in an industry with powerful secular tailwinds. Cyxtera’s world-class team, led by Manny and Nelson, has built a high-performance, trusted, and reliable global platform, without losing their customer focus or passion for innovation. Cyxtera is exactly the kind of opportunity we were targeting when we created SVAC. We look forward to partnering with the Cyxtera and BC Partners teams to grow the Company and create value for our shareholders, employees, customers, and partners.”

The company’s leadership, including executive chair Manuel D. Medina, CEO Nelson Fonseca, COO Randy Rowland, and CFO Carlos Sagasta, will continue to lead Cyxtera, with Mr. Medina and Mr. Fonseca also serving on the board of the combined company as chair and director, respectively. SVAC chair Jeff Smith and industry advisor Greg Waters will join the combined company’s board as independent and lead independent directors, respectively, upon completion of the merger. BC Partners’ partner, chairman, and chairman of the executive committee Raymond Svider and partner Fahim Ahmed will also serve on the combined company’s board.

Latham & Watkins LLP represented Cyxtera Technologies Inc., and its private equity sponsor BC Partners, in the deSPAC transaction. The M&A deal team was led by New York partners John Giouroukakis and Eyal Orgad, with New York associates Julian AzranThomas EngelhardtDaniel Weissman, and Josh Reisman. The capital markets team was led by New York partners Marc Jaffe and Erika Weinberg, with Chicago counsel Andra Troy and New York associate Christian Vazquez. Advice was also provided on tax matters by New York partner Jocelyn Noll, with New York associate Alan Kimball; and on benefits and compensation matters by Washington, D.C. partner Adam Kestenbaum, with Washington, D.C. associate Nikhil Kumar.